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    Evil?

    My mom told me last night that it made her uncomfortable that I don't believe in evil. I explained that I don't because morality is subjective, and what's evil to one person is good (or nothing) to another. That doesn't mean I don't believe there is harm or wrong, but that evil is too easy a term to put on anything that disagrees with your personal moral code.

    So that got me wondering: what do you guys think? Is there such a thing as evil? What defines evil to you?
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    #2
    Re: Evil?

    I believe in evil at the human level. It's a description for a horrible human being. It's not a scapegoat on who to blame when you dun goofed.
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      #3
      Re: Evil?

      I agree Duce,evil is a human trait in my eyes...in fact,I think humans tend to try and put the bad on an outside force as a way to not blame human nature.
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        #4
        Re: Evil?

        Whenever I use evil as a descriptor it's either for drama or to make a concept easier to understand. I don't think true evil is something we can determine because it is so inherently subjective. This can get confusing to people I talk to since I lack a similar word to express the connotation that evil represents. When discussing a person or act so malicious and vile I can think of no other word to correctly convey my feelings I default to evil, even realizing that it's not exactly the right word.
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          #5
          Re: Evil?

          For what it is worth with my foggy headed virus brain: yes, I believe there is such a things as evil. In fact, I would say there are several evils, depending on who you ask, and that evil isn't necessarily bad except when defined as such. Good/evil is a primary dichotomy, with good generally being considered constructive and life giving and evil being considered destructive and life destroying, but the rhythms of life and the universe require both for balance in the same way that binary code simply doesn't work if there is only one number. So then some say that good is a balance between these forces and evil is an imbalance, but absolute and eternal balance is stasis. No imbalance, no change, no life. In more common usage the edges get even blurrier, but people do generally agree upon which acts are "evil" regardless of religiosity. Interesting question to ponder.

          "No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical." -- Niels Bohr

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            #6
            Re: Evil?

            Do I believe in Good/Evil?

            Short answer: Yes

            Longer answer: Yes but I don't consider them sufficiently comprehensible by mortal life to feel comfortable defining them in a practical manner.
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              #7
              Re: Evil?

              Well, I don't think evil is supernatural...there is no being of evil. And it isn’t a moral absolute, nor do I think it is the opposite of good. Evil as a concept is highly subjective. But I do believe in it.

              The best way I've heard it described is that evil is a rip in the fabric of empathy---more specifically, evil is an intentional attempt to cause harm for the the purpose of selfish gain that is carried out without remorse or compassion.
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                #8
                Re: Evil?

                Originally posted by habbalah View Post
                Is there such a thing as evil? What defines evil to you?
                I believe in evil, just not in the traditional sense.

                I don't see it as an outside force, but an internal one of our own creation.

                I see evil as being totally alone; to have built up your own internal walls so much, to live in your own fabricated internal world so strongly, that you are no longer capable of recognizing other people as being real people... To no longer have the ability of empathy because you are so cut off... so cut off not even the gods can reach you anymore.

                Not because the Gods aren't trying to reach you (I don't think your personal Gods ever stop trying), but because you don't let them in.

                I see evil people as being the most pitiful and sad...

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                  #9
                  Re: Evil?

                  Evil, and its counterpart, Good, are both human constructs. A rabbit cannot be good. A rabbit cannot be evil. It simply is.

                  Only humans can be evil or good.


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                    #10
                    Re: Evil?

                    I don't beleive in evil in animals (they use their instincts) and from a supenatural view I do not beleive in evil. HowereI beleive in both god and evil in humans, simply beacause we all can choose to be evil on purpose, and not on instinct, simply because de sant to.

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                      #11
                      Re: Evil?

                      I believe people can do evil things. I believe - if they do them often, or if they never, ever, understand why what they did was wrong - that this could then be construed as an evil person.
                      I do not believe in putting off the evil that we do onto some other force. Satan-blaming is just not owning up. The devil didn't 'make' people do things. They chose to do them. They just chicken out when it comes to taking responsibility for it.
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                        #12
                        Re: Evil?

                        Originally posted by Tylluan Penry View Post
                        I believe people can do evil things. I believe - if they do them often, or if they never, ever, understand why what they did was wrong - that this could then be construed as an evil person.
                        I do not believe in putting off the evil that we do onto some other force. Satan-blaming is just not owning up. The devil didn't 'make' people do things. They chose to do them. They just chicken out when it comes to taking responsibility for it.
                        I agree. You make your own decisions, and therefore you have The responsibility, not anyone else then you.

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                          #13
                          Re: Evil?

                          I don't give "evil" much of a place in my vocabulary because it's too vague a term. A person can be considered evil for committing an atrocity; or they could be considered psychopathic, malevolent, bitter, cruel, disjointed, or any other number of more definable terms that give a better understanding of what was really going on in the moment.

                          "Evil," I feel, is something of a scapegoat term that applies to any negative or harmful trait or action that people portray or carry out. I like giving credit where it's due, rather than lumping every painful experience and individual into one category and labeling it the same thing.

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                            #14
                            Re: Evil?

                            IMHO - rather than "do you believe in evil?" the question asked should be (because we all use the word) "for what do you use the word "evil" to represent.

                            I use the word "evil" to mean "acts with intent to do grievous and irreparable harm for his/her pleasure."
                            Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

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                              #15
                              Re: Evil?

                              Remembered another description of evil that I read, that evil was misplaced force -- wrong place, wrong time, wrong, subject, etc. I dunno. It seems there is some agreement that evil isn't evil unless it is intentional evil, but it is too easy to think of horrors perpetrated with the best intentions, or actual positive outcomes from bad intentions. I think it is more slippery than that. Maybe something can only be deemed evil post hoc.

                              "No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical." -- Niels Bohr

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